The right whale, a protected species, annually migrates along the outskirts of t

The right whale, a protected species, annually migrates along the outskirts of the Gulf of Maine. The right whale population is not rebounding or even holding steady, and the National Marine Fisheries Service says lobstermen and their fixed-gear traps are a major reason. A proposal before the NMFS would outlaw the use of fixed gear, and lobstermen are outraged. Lobsterman David Wessel of Harpswell and others are lobbying to block the proposal. Steven Katona of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor believes crowded shipping lanes are causing the decline in right whales. Details